BENTONVILLE — In the obscure but otherwise delightful film “Smoke,” which was written by the great American novelist Paul Auster, a Brooklyn cigar shop owner named Auggie takes a photograph of the same street corner every day for 20 years. We see in the film that despite the same outward appearance of sameness in the pictures Auggie takes, upon closer observation the photographs reveal significant changes over the years.
Well, I have done much the same thing for the past 20 years at the corner of North Walton and Tiger Boulevard here in Bentonville at a building I’ve come to simply call “The Motel.”
No, I don’t use a camera, but instead take a mental photograph as I pass it by either walking or driving my car from my neighborhood, which sits directly behind the ever-aging structure.
The name I gave this building came from confusion over the years of its proper name. When I first moved to my neighborhood, it was the Ramada Inn; later came a flurry of succeeding appellations such as Quality Inn, Motel 6 and others that have faded from memory.
So somewhere around 2000 I starting giving it the current name of “The Motel” whenever it came up in conversation, whether giving direction to people on how to come to my house, or just in gossip, but I realized most people called it that themselves.
Now dear reader, make no mistake: This column is not your usual nostalgia piece about good times past or a remembrance about a simpler, smaller Bentonville. Don’t get me wrong; over the years, my mother, sister and assorted family members have stayed there while on visits for births, birthdays and the like. There used to be a pretty good buffet brunch there on Sundays years ago where the fried chicken was excellent (and I know my fried chicken!).
Still, I wholeheartedly support what Aristotle put so simply: “All change is sweet.” Or to put it even more bluntly, I cannot wait until they tear that thing down!
Seeing The Motel every day over the years, I began to notice things. Unlike other businesses where the buildings are remodeled and updated, no such thing occurred here. Just paint, more paint, then finally no paint. Perhaps that was inevitable as fancier, newer alternatives slowly took business away to the south end of town.
Things really got personal when two years ago, while my wife and I were at the gym, a 19-year-old man came in from an unlocked window and stole our laptop, cellphone and my electric razor. To be honest, the razor theft really ticked me off because not only did it give me a really close shave, but hey, it was my razor! Well, I am pleased to report our outstanding police department nailed the said thief and, you guessed it, he was staying at The Motel when he came into my beloved neighborhood.
My wife and I usually walk our dogs a couple of evenings a week. Our route takes us down the back street of The Motel where we noticed other changes. Barbecue grills and Big Wheels were now common sights outside some of the doors. One guy brought an old recliner that he kept outside to smoke and relax on. We saw some really interesting vehicles, including one completely covered in large crosses. I didn’t know if they were just religious or if it was some sort of car exorcism taking place.
This past Sunday was a fairly normal example of life around The Motel. My older daughter was out walking our two dogs around 3 p.m., which took her behind The Motel for part of the stroll. That is where she suddenly noticed a man standing just outside his room door completely naked about 15 feet from her.
To his credit, upon seeing her, he attempted to return inside his room, however, the mechanics of turning the doorknob proved too difficult in his condition, which caused him to fall down where he laid for about a minute. Fortunately, a man walking to his nearby room saw his predicament and assisted him inside.
So when the news came of Harps wanting to tear down the Motel and build a new grocery store at that location, I thought of my man Aristotle and told my wife that magic word: “Sweet!”
Bentonville City Council and Planning Department: Do not let me down. And that is no smoke.
SEY YOUNG IS A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN, HUSBAND, FATHER AND LONGTIME RESIDENT OF BENTONVILLE.